Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-01

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people think that competition at work, at school and in daily life is a good thing. Others believe that we should try to cooperate more, rather than competing against each other.

Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

When the topic of competition and cooperation are discussed, there are divided opinions. One group is believe that competition at work and school is beneficial while other individuals think that cooperation is good thing rather than competing with each other. Prior to my opinion both the views are discussed below.

Discussing the first view, it improves the performance of the person. Since competition is begin at office and school, many candidates may try to increase their skills. Therefore, it is beneficial for their personal and professional growth. For example, a recent survey in India showed that, more than half students got a good score in the examination because of the competition. In addition, it encourage people to perform better. If employees compete with each other at the office, they try to complete office tasks in less time. Consequently, it boosts company profit. For instance, TCS company gave bonus to the working professionals who completed project prior to the deadline.

On the other hand, the common goals can be achieved with cooperation. When multiple workers working on the same project, it can be complete with less time. Hence, group project efficiency is greater than individual project. For instance, in the software firm, they mostly work on group work because of big project. Moreover, more competing creates a stress for individual. This is because person feel more hard work need to done when competition is held. Therefore, it can affects their mental well being.

In conclusion, although cooperation is needed at many work places, I believe that competition provides more benefits such as improve performance and boost productivity.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear personal opinion in the conclusion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you provide examples like the survey in India and the TCS bonus, the explanation of why competition is beneficial remains a bit superficial. To reach a higher band, you should expand on the 'why' and 'how' behind your arguments rather than just stating them. The introduction is slightly awkward in its phrasing, but the overall position is maintained throughout the essay. The task is fully addressed, but the depth of analysis could be improved to move beyond a Band 6 level.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, each with a central topic. You use cohesive devices such as 'In addition', 'Consequently', and 'On the other hand' to link ideas. However, some transitions feel mechanical, and there are instances where the flow is slightly disrupted by grammatical errors, such as 'Since competition is begin at office'. The referencing is generally clear, but the logical progression within paragraphs could be smoother. The use of cohesive devices is adequate for a Band 6, but more sophisticated linking would be required for a higher score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'professional growth', 'efficiency', and 'mental well-being'. However, there are several instances of word-choice errors and awkward collocations, such as 'more competing creates a stress' instead of 'excessive competition creates stress' and 'person feel more hard work need to done'. These errors do not impede communication, but they highlight a limitation in your control over more complex lexical items. To improve, focus on learning common collocations and ensuring that word forms are used correctly in context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, such as 'One group is believe', 'competition is begin', and 'it can be complete with less time'. These errors are noticeable and occur in both simple and complex structures. While the meaning remains clear, the frequency of these slips prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. You should focus on subject-verb agreement, passive voice construction, and proper verb tense usage to improve your accuracy.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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